I don't own any of the final fantasy games.
Chapter 1 - 16th year
Larsa Solidor had been emperor for a couple of years now. His polices and reform had made Archadia a better place. His father's reputation as a tyrant was slowly being distanced from his own. The borders of Archadia were now more open than ever.
For the last month or so, the counsel had been pushing him to marry. Under normal circumstances it wouldn't be a pressing issue but because he has no family, if he were to die then there would be no one to take over his position. Fetes had been thrown as a way for him to meet eligible young ladies. There would be another tonight, a special occasion. It was his 16th birthday.
After preparing for the party, he looked in the mirror at his reflection. The Fete was less than an hour away and he was already dressed. His dress clothes felt heavy. He brought a hand up and gently touched the golden circlet on his forehead.
It no longer felt foreign to him but still brought unpleasant memories. He had never pictured becoming emperor, that was the job for one of his brothers. For the sake of the honor of his family he had done his best to become a well respected emperor.
It seemed like no time at all past when someone came to get him. The hall was beautifully lit. Gold and red seemed to flow from everywhere, filling the room with warmth. People from Archadia, Rosaria and Dalmasca were were all mingling together. There were colors, sights and smells that were almost overwhelming.
He put on a kind smile and greeted each of the guests he came across. Halfway through the Fete, after dancing with several young ladies, he spied the queen of Dalmasca. With wine in hand, he made his way over to her.
"You've grown since last I saw you." she stated when he approached. His smile widened as he responded, "It seems I have." They both stood in silence and listened to the orchestra play. It was nice to be around someone he knew so well.
"Excuse me." said a light, airy voice behind him. He turned to see a beautiful young lady. Her golden hair was pulled into a tight bun, her blue dress matched her eyes. Her cheeks here pink, she had obviously had a bit to drink tonight.
He bowed to her and she curtsied back. "I am Winifred Margrace, pleasure your Majesty." she held out her hand to be kissed. "The pleasure is mine." he said as he kissed her hand. She giggled lightly.
"If you'll excuse me." Queen Ash said quietly as she walked away. They stood there holding her hand a moment longer than necessary. Despite all the dancing and socializing he was pushed into, he was still awkward around strangers. It seemed Winifred was suffering from the same thing.
Once he realized his mistake he blushed and let go quickly. This resulted in him spilling a little wine on his sleeve, staining the cream colored fabric. "Oh m'lord." she yelped, drawing a white lace handkerchief to clean the mess from his arm. "I'm so sorry."
The look of panic on her face brought fresh panic of his own. "Oh no," he rushed, "you are not at all at fault, Lady Winifred." "Winnie." she said quietly. "Oh course, Lady Winnie."
He also drank a little to much. The room seemed too bright and music too loud. "It is rather warm here, would you like to accompany me to the garden?" he suggested. She smiled at him shyly as he held his clean arm for her to take. Gingerly, she held on to his arm.
As he led her to the grand garden, he noticed many eyes on them. For him this was nothing new but Winnie seem quite nervous. The night air was cool on his heated cheeks. He turned slightly to face her. The look on her face was one of pure excitement. 'Winnie is easy to read' he thought.
When she noticed that he was focused on her she blushed at him. "Um, you highness?" she asked, effectively bringing him back to the present. "Oh, I'm sorry Lady Winnie." he apologized. There was an awkward silence between them.
She smiled nervously and said, "Your garden is the most beautiful I've ever seen, my Lord." "My name is Larsa." he said. "Oh course, Lord Larsa." He smiled back at her and replied.
"Lady Winnie-" "Lord Larsa-" they began at the same time. "I-I'm sorry." she stammered. He shook his head slightly and said, "Go on, Lady Winnie, I insist." She bit her lip and fidgeted a moment before answering, as if she was deciding what she should say. "My sister was really the person that wanted to meet you." He smiled and said, "Have you many siblings?" This time she smiled a little more confidently. "I have just one sister and one brother."
"In any case," he smiled at her, "I am very happy to have met you." She blushed again and they spent some time talking about her family. She seemed very close with her siblings, although she did recall a few moments of annoyance to then. He was more than happy to listen to her talk about them.
He hoped that she wouldn't ask about his. Larsa had no intention of talking about his own family. There was to much pain connected with not only his brothers but his father as well. Thankfully for him, she did not push. They stayed together for a while until he was once again called into the palace to entertain more of his guests.
That night, the party lasted until nearly two in the morning. When he finally managed to get back to his room, he was exhausted but light hearted. In his slightly drunken haze his thoughts were on Winnie. "I'm going to see her again, very soon, I think." he mumbled at a hand maiden helped him undress. "OK course you will." she said.
The next morning he slept until past ten in morning. When one of the maids came to wake him, she also informed him that there was a counsel meeting at noon.
When he entered the counsel chambers later that morning, he was the last to get there. Over past few years he had changed almost all of the counsel members. He was greeted in a friendly but polite manner. As he sat down in his assigned seat the meeting began.
Like every other meeting he had been to, the counsel members had a real talent for making even interesting subjects dry and boring. He dutifully listened to everything he was told and gave his opinion when he was asked. Then some thing unexpected happened. He was told that an agreement was offered from Rosaria. They offered to allow Larsa to marry the princess as part of an alliance.
His counsel erged him to take her as his wife, seeing as he wasn't currently courting anyone. His mind turned to Winnie for only a moment but he had only met her once and he was slightly inebriated at the time. He told the counsel that he had to think on this but in his mind he knew that he would take the offer.